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(IJRSSH) 2020, Vol. No. 10, Issue No. IV, Oct-Dec e-ISSN: 2249-4642, p-ISSN: 2454-4671

Main Challenges Encountered by Students in

Learning English as a Foreign Language
Issa Safaa Issa Al-Khalidi
English Department, College of Basic Education
Maysan University

DOI: 10.37648/ijrssh.v10i04.004

Received:18th August, 2020; Accepted:04th September, 2020; Published:22nd September,2020

ABSTRACT

Learning English is quite challenging in non-English native countries.The problems encountered

during the learning process make it difficult. For some country where English use is taboo, you have to be
persistentto learn it efficiently. This paperexplores the main challenges of the students that hinder them from
learning English languageeffectively. Furthermore, we will explore student’s exposure to English language
which can advance our understanding of their application outside learning institutions. In this study,the target
sample is the first stage college students taking basic education. In order to generate relevant data, the
researcher administered a systematic questionnaire to the randomly chosen students.A qualified evaluator
then rated the students’ communication skills with the aid of a recorder and an evaluation sheet. Significantly,
the majority of the students reported that fear and anxiety is the most challenging factor they face w hile
learning English language. In spite of the challenges, the evaluator gave “very good” and “good” remarks
to the majority of them. Interestingly, this could be attributed by the students’ constant application of their
learning at home as reported. While this paper had answered the main objective of the study, more researches
are suggested to gain a complete grasp on the students’ perspectives towards English learning.

INTRODUCTION used as measurement of intelligence, leaving the

challenged student a target of laughing-stock and
The demand for learning English has been bullying. This social marginalization becomes a
drastically increasing as most of the non-English heavy burden and can eventually affect the
countries learn to embrace western initiated motivation of the students to learn. This factor
developments. In order to improve communication adds up the burden of learning English which
and unity hindered by language barrier, teaching apparently pollutes the overall learning experience
the international language became arequirement in of the student.
all schools worldwide. While this has indeed
brought improvement in communication to the On the other hand, the development of English
international arena, many students face challenges communication has opened doors to a wide range
in learning the language and eventually results in of opportunities to non-western countries. One
poor communication within the academia. In fact, most popular example of this is the outsourcing
in some countries, especially in second and third scheme employed by many American businesses to
world countries, fluency in English languageis suffice the demand of their customers. It generated

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millions of jobs which help boost the national deeper to grasp what the real problem is behind the
economy, not to mention the continuously slow learning progress of the students instead of
increasing demand for tutors too for teaching seeing just the tip of the iceberg. They should
English as secondary language online. In this realize the critical role they play in developing the
sense, we can realize the importance of the student’s skills as it is the very fundamental pillars
English language not just on the individual of a country’s genuine success.
lives but also for the progress of the country. This
is the reason why the government of every country LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:
sees to it that it has done its responsibility by
providing quality education to its citizens, and if Although the study limits to the participants’
possible continuously revises its scheme stage level (as this study only focuses on the
to ensure its efficiency. students in the first stage in college), it is
important to note that this population is unique
PROBLEM STATEMENT: making it an ideal subject of researches. Transition
in this level can be so overwhelming that it can
Learning English as secondary language may make or break the student’s future in college.
seem easy for some but for many students, it is an As Kannan (Kannan, 2009. p.2) described, it is at
uphill experience. The pressure a student may this stage that the student can feel “freedom” from
experience out from demands for fast progress may the rigorous training they had undergone from the
in different ways impede the learning process. The past levels of education. Due to the notion that
problem may arise not from a single aspect but college is liberal in teaching the
may have been an accumulated effect from various students, motivation and discipline may start to
factors. In addition to these factors is the dynamic bleak. Thus, it is of utmost importance to
nature of English. The language is continuously correct, monitor and counsel the students at this
evolving and other people, who are stuck in stage of their development. Another limitation of
learning the basics, may find it hard to catch up. the study is its time-bound nature making it unique
Instructors and teachers should dig deeper to find from the past studies. Meaning, this is relevant to
out of what the real problem is behind the slow the current and existing environmental condition
learning progress of the students instead of seeing and whenever the demands and pressure changes
just the tip of the iceberg. They should realize the in the future (as it always does), this study will
critical role they play in developing the student’s still provide a firm foundation in the development
skills as it is the very fundamental pillars of a of new results and discoveries.
country’s genuine success.
REVIEW OF SOME RELATED
OBJECTIVE: LITERATURE

Learning English as a foreign language may Many studies and researches investigating
seem easy for some but for many students, it is an English language learning flood the literature. This
uphill experience. The pressure a student may fact alone emphasizes how important and
experience out from demands for fast progress may disturbing the stunted growth of English learning
in a different way impede the learning process. The is in many countries worldwide. Applying the
problem may arise not from a single aspect but learning in daily practice, both inside and outside
may have been an accumulated effect from various the school is the usual method to improve English
factors. In addition to these factors is the dynamic skills as recommended by many studies. This,
nature of English. The language is continuously however, is challenging as bilingual nature always
evolving and other people who find themselves kicks in especially if you are submerged in an
stuck in learning the basics may find it hard to environment where the English language is just
catch up. Instructors and teachers should dig secondary and rarely a used language. What makes
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English different from other subjects is that it be coupled and equated with an incomplete
needs a constant application to achieve mastery acquisition of necessary skills required for
and fluency. Also, one commonly observed effective language learning.
mistake in most education systems is that teachers
usually focus on preparing the students for It is also important to note that not all issues are
examinations and sometimes tend to forget their rooted in the student. Sometimes, it also comes
true purpose which is to develop their students’ from the instructor himself. Several researchers
English skills. Studying it for the mere purpose of find it disturbing when the teaching styles being
passing examinations makes the learning process provided by the teachers are not in the correct way
ineffective and futile. While the prior mentioned as it should be. Being too nice can lessen the
gaps takes a seat on the several main failures teaching efficiency as it reduces the strength
causing lack of progress, Schwartz and Terrill needed to get full attention and participation
(Schwartz and Terril, 2000:Wold, 2006, p.12) also (Wold, 2006, p.41). On the other hand, imposing
mentioned few factors affecting English language too much discipline in teaching, not to mention the
learning. These include the following: harsh apprehension styles being implemented by
the teachers to correct the students’ behavior, is
• Limited skills in native language brought not advisable. Although from the teacher’s point of
about by limited previous education; view, it is too stressful handling a class mixed with
• Ineffective study habits; competent and slow English learners, the teacher
• Lack of familiarization on the Roman should understand that their responsibility is not
alphabet, especially if the native language is limited to above average students alone (Kannan,
way too different and is in the non-Roman 2009, p.3). It is their primary task to guide and
alphabet; teach struggling students too and punishing them
• Unmet expectations between the instructors causing psychological consequences is already an
and learners with regards to the teaching unjustifiable attempt of crossing the line. The
styles; psychological stress it causes to the students will
• Socio-cultural factors such as age, physical eventually give way to distorted self-esteem, self-
health, social identity confidence and also affects their risk-taking
abilities (Crookall and Oxford,1991: Wold, 2006,
• Issues with work, health, and family;
p.67).
• Sporadic attendance during classes.

Many countries exert maximum efforts to solve

These findings clearly indicate that there are
this dilemma in the world of English linguistics.
deeper reasons behind a learner who makes little
Muhammad (Muhammad et.al, 2018, p.12), in his
or no progress at all. Hybrid or a combination
study on the Nigerian community, suggested that
of these factors can definitely lead to learning
learning authorities should enforce great effort in
failure. It is notable that in the listed reasons,
promoting English in speaking, listening, reading
everything makes logical connection except on the
and writing in classrooms. To
first reason. Then how can one relate difficulty in
improve motivation and gain sufficient attention,
using the native language to difficulty in learning
the teachers should upgrade their teaching methods
the foreign language? The reason behind it lies in
to a more interesting and interactive way. These
the pivotal role the first language plays in learning
could include using audio and visual aids in
the second language, which is, in this case, the
teaching. Most importantly, he advised that
English language.
teachers should improve their knowledge skills too
As Ganschow (Ganschow et.al,1998: Wold, 2006,
so they can teach English skills more effectively.
p.15) had described it, native language provides a
This is effective at some degree, however,
foundation in learning a foreign language. That is
it should be highlighted that learning does not only
an underdeveloped native language experience can
happen at the four corners of the classroom.
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(IJRSSH) 2020, Vol. No. 10, Issue No. IV, Oct-Dec e-ISSN: 2249-4642, p-ISSN: 2454-4671

Taking into account that a student spends only a Assessment of English Language Exposure
part of his time learning the English language Identifying Main Challenges in Learning
inside the school, their usual outlet should the English Language
be considered too. Akbari (Akbari, 2015, p. 395) Evaluation on Students Perception of the
highlights the importance of improving the English Language
existing English teaching system. She pointed out Assessment on English Communication
that prolonging the current system costs not only Skills through Direct Observation
efforts to both sides (for student and teacher) but
also the national government’s pocket. For The study used the existing researches and
instance, in cases like Iran where English teaching studies to determine the common problems and
starts at the age of 11, to first grade in junior high challenges in learning the English language (Khan,
school up to the university level, English 2011; Muhammad et.al, 2018; Wold,
communication is still a big issue. If summed up, 2006; Khajloo, 2013). With the informant’s
the English learning will eventually reach almost 7 permission, the researcher recorded the interview.
years in Iran and it is pretty disturbing to know that After the interview, a qualified evaluator examined
the government’s investment to improve education the communication skills of the students. The
had gone to peril. evaluator then rated the communication skill of
each student using the “English Communication
METHODOLOGY Evaluation Sheet”.

The increasing number of studies investigating

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
English as a Second and foreign Language (EFL)
is overwhelming. The research design The students reported that they often expose
adapted Riyaz’s (Riyaz and Mullick, themselves to English through listening to English
2016) methodology. From the first-year college songs (30%) and using the language in talking with
student taking Basic Education, a representative their family members (30%). These results
sample was taken for data generation. The sample could indicate positive inputs for English language
included randomly chosen twenty (20), students. skills development among the students. Moreover,
An equal number of respondents from female and the English language is effectively learned with
male students was chosen to participate. simultaneous application extending outside the
They were expected to represent the four walls of the classroom. Home is where
whole population and the conclusion was a student spends most of his time and using
drawn out from them. English more often in the communication will give
them the opportunity to practice their learning
DATA GATHERING AND ANALYSIS from schools. By contrast, in the study conducted
among the students in India, most students (46.2%)
The gathered information were classified never use English at home with their family
into four connected sections. These are: members (Riyaz, 2016, p. 64), providing them less
opportunity to language exposure.

Table 1: Activities Associated with English Language Exposure

Often Sometimes Rarely

Activities
(%) (%) (%)
Watching English movies 0.2 0.5 0.3
Reading English books 0.25 0.5 0.25
Reading English newspaper/magazine 0.2 0.4 0.4
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Reading English articles online 0.25 0.35 0.4

Listening to English songs 0.3 0.5 0.2
Speaking English inside the classroom 0.25 0.5 0.25
Speaking English with family members 0.3 0.5 0.2
Speaking English with friends 0.25 0.35 0.4
Speaking English with other people (i.e. neighbors,
0.15 0.4 0.45
strangers etc.)

To understand the students’ perspectives in learning the English language, they were given a
chance to rate the learning difficulty level. The chart below shows the result on their quick assessment of
English language learning. Notably, the majority (40%) of them reported that they find it hard to learn it. On
the other hand, only 25% of the students find English learning as an easy task .

Figure1: Chart showing English learning difficulty level

25% Easy
40%
Normal
Hard
35%

Although this study is limited to one quick assessment question only, there are existi ng researches
which investigate specific reasons behind the difficulty of learning English language per se. Ungureanu
(Ungureanu, 2015, p. 84-85) cited few reasons why English learning is difficult for some people. Her first
reason highlights the vastness of rules in English grammar. She expressed the ambiguity of English grammar
rules in humorous lines. The following is an excerpt taken from Ungureanu’s study:

“ We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,

But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice…”

Another reason she cited is the existence of some keywords th at have different meanings that can be used as
different part of speech in different contexts. She provided the following example s:

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Table 2: Example of words with multiple meanings

Word Meaning/Use

Table Lunch table (Social language)

Periodic table of elements (Science)
Table of contents (ELA)
Multiplication table (Math)
To table (delay) the discussion (Social Studies
Plot Plot of a story (ELA)
Plot of land (Geography)
Plot ordered pairs on a graph

Furthermore, the students identified the main challenges they usually face. "Anxiety and fear in using
the English language" is the most common challenging factor (25%) for students. This result is consistent with
the result of the various studies in countries where English is not the primary language. In the Philippines, the
“Fear of negative evaluation and the general feeling of anxiety” is the primary challenge faced by the first
year college students as far as the English language learning is concerned. Two of the main reasons of it are:
(1) the anxiety experienced when having conversation with classmates or with teachers using English language
(Mamhot et al, 2013, p. 214) and (2) fear of negative evaluation. However, upon further study, it was found
out that students were neutral with their feelings regarding communication comprehension. That is, they are
neither acknowledging that they fear nor they deny that they feel fear (p. 219). Neutrality was also observed
between the display of anxiety and confidence among them. The researcher hypothesized that it could be
attributed to the factor that: (1) these students have been exposed to the English language since they are
children or (2) they might feel that it is too bold for their age and level (first -year college students) to show-
off their confidence. Either way, the researcher did not associate the absence of real competency in English
language use as the main reason of generating fear and anxiety among the students. Instead, the researcher
denoted that the problem lies in the common notion that they might commit mistakes and end up being
embarrassed; the same main prevalent reason in the current study. The second factor associated with
challenges in learning English as Secondary Language is the lack of concentration in classes (20%). In a study
conducted among the first year English major students at Qassim University in Saudi (Hamouda, 2013, p.
122), student’s assessed their listening skills as “poor”. Hamouda also identified what are the usual causes of
concentration failure among the students. In her study, the statement “I lose focus of the talk when I have
got an expected answer in my mind” is the most common reason disrupting concentration (p. 130). Other
common reasons are inability to simultaneously listening to the dialogue while searching for answers in mind
and limited English vocabulary (p. 130). The next two challenging factors among the students in the current
study are lack of interest and motivation and lack of proficiency and competency on teachers. The graph below
illustrates the complete ranking of the part of challenges. Significantly, less than 10% of the students reported
that they face challenges relating to bilingual interference and lack of a constant application. In other words,
we can assume that most of the students put their learning in real application outside the school. This statement
can further affirm the earlier result where English was used in communicating with the family members.

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Figure 2: Challenges encountered by student in learning English language

Lack of Interest and

0.253: Challenges encountered by students in learning English language
Table Motivation
Lack of Concentration in
Classes
0.2 Information Overload
Problem During Classes
0.154: Challenges encountered by students in learning English language Anxiety and Fear in Using the
Table
English Language
Lack of Proficiency and
0.1 Competency on Teachers
Bilingual Interference
0.055: Challenges encountered by students in learning English language
Table No Constant Application

To give a quick measurement of English language communication competency among the students, a
qualified evaluator examined the interview sessions through a recorder. He provided remarks on each student
interviewed. The following graph shows the complete list of the remarks. In spite of the result that most of
the students find it difficult to learn the English language, the majority of them got a “very good” (25%) and
“good” (25%) remarks from the evaluator. This could imply efficiency of the Eng lish language learning
strategy currently employed by the students. This is in spite of the fear and anxiety commonly experienced by
the students in speaking the language.

Figure 3: Remarks on English fluency

0.25

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0
Excellent Very good Good Average Weak Bad

English language is a complex system. Ungureanu (Ungureanu, 2015, p.86) asserted that fluency cannot be
obtained by comprehensively focusing on grammar nor by translating words from the mother tongue. Her
golden rule is “Speaking is the only requirement to be fluent”. That is, by submerging yourself in English-
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speaking environment, learning can progress several times faster. Apparently, from the results obtained, the
students are doing the right thing in enhancing their English language skills.

CONCLUSION

English learning could be challenging for many EL learners. Based on the results, most students admit
having a hard time learning English but can actually use the language well. These difficulties may be
associated with the complex system of English language per se. Moreover, efficiency in language learning
is attributed not just through theoretical inputs from school but most importantly, through constant application
outside the school. Like other studies, the most common challenge faced by students is the fear and anxiety
associated with English use in public. This challenge primarily roots from the common notion that they might
commit a mistake in using the language and will be negatively evaluated by their audience as a result.
Confidence is something they can learn as they develop at the later stage of their education. Furthermore,
exposing them to various English communication exercises will not just advance their learning but will also
boost their self-confidence as time goes by. During the development process, their vocabularies will become
more enriched eventually boosting self-confidence. Anxiety and fear in speaking English is a common
dilemma among first stage college students. Coupled with the overwhelming tra nsitions during this stage, the
students may become emotionally and mentally drained. Thus, teachers and parents should provide proper
guidance to the students during this time.

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Ganschow, L., Sparks, R., & Javorsky, J. 1998. Foreign Language Learning Difficulties: An Historical
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Hamouda, Arafat. 2013. An Investigation of Listening Comprehension Problems Encountered by Saudi

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